I&B Ministry
MIB nudge to TV channels on content monitoring
NEW DELHI: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has cautioned 121 TV channels for not faciliatiing monitoring of content by government agencies as per existing regulations.
Pointing out that as technical parameters were not being made available to the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC), an organisation under MIB umbrella, government has reminded the errant TV channels regulations clearly state the company/channel shall “provide for the necessary monitoring facility at its own cost” for monitoring of programmes or content by a government agency.
The list, which has been put out on the MIB website, includes TV channels from big and small broadcasting companies and they have been given time till 30 May 2018 to comply with existing government guidelines.
Broadcaster names include 9X, TV9 AP, UTV Movies International, Mahua channels, Sony Pix 2, several SAB regional channels, Star Gold South East Asia, Star Plus Middle East, VH1, Colors Tamil, Living Travelz, Living Rootz, Z Living, Shop CJ Tamil, Zee Kannada, Zee Telugu, History TV18 HD, etc. A total of 121 channels have been named.
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MUMBAI: When the numbers go silent, the noise on screen gets a little harder to measure. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has extended the suspension of television rating data for news channels, directing Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to withhold TRPs for another four weeks. The latest order, issued on March 31, 2026, builds on an earlier directive from March 6 that had paused ratings for a month. The ministry has clarified that the blackout will continue for four weeks or until further instructions are issued whichever comes earlier keeping the industry in a prolonged state of data drought.
The reasoning, officials suggest, lies far beyond domestic screens. With geopolitical tensions in West Asia continuing to escalate, the government has flagged concerns over how such developments could influence news consumption and presentation. The move is aimed at curbing excessive sensationalism and speculative coverage during what it describes as a sensitive global moment.
For the broadcast ecosystem, the absence of Television Rating Points (TRPs) is more than symbolic, it removes the industry’s primary scorecard. Ratings dictate advertising flows, shape editorial strategies and fuel the competitive pecking order among news channels. Without them, broadcasters are effectively operating without a public performance benchmark.
The timing only adds to the complexity. Amid a high-intensity global news cycle, channels must now navigate audience engagement without the weekly feedback loop that typically drives programming decisions. Advertisers, too, are left recalibrating, leaning on proxies such as brand strength, reach and distribution instead of hard viewership data.
While framed as a temporary regulatory intervention tied to maintaining public order, the extended suspension underscores a broader unease about the tone and direction of news coverage. For now, the ratings race is on pause but the battle for attention continues, just without a scoreboard.
